Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, it is a privilege to speak on the Vote of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education—central to our “Prosperous Country – Dignified Life” policy under the theme “Cultured Citizen – Developed Human Capital.”

¶ 02 As the Hon. Prime Minister stated, Rs. 619 billion is allocated this year—the highest so far—our first step toward our targets. While many speak on qualitative improvements, I will focus on quantitative infrastructure, which is equally vital: safe, physically and psychologically healthy learning environments. Buildings are a core component of the right to education.

¶ 03 Three aspects:

¶ 04 1) Substandard buildings: across the country there are many poorly built structures—hundreds of thousands of rupees spent via contractors, only to be condemned within five years. In my Kaduwela electorate, several schools (e.g., Bomiriya National School, Thalahena Subodhi Vidyalaya, Athurugiriya Maha Vidyalaya, Welivita St. Mary’s) have such buildings.

¶ 05 2) Science and technology facilities: we hear of smart classrooms and boards, but many “tech” projects were marred by commissions and fraud. Example: in Feb 2024, China agreed to supply 1,000 smart boards and related classroom tech for 1,000 schools; the Government spent Rs. 1.5 billion to bring the boards, but the promised technology integration did not arrive. Today, those 1,000 boards lie idle in warehouses deteriorating. We are now assessing how to repurpose these assets effectively.

¶ 06 3) Sanitation and water: some schools lack toilets and water; many cannot pay water bills. Menstrual hygiene is also neglected; most schools lack disposal systems for sanitary pads. We have launched a programme to address this and increased funds to provide free sanitary products, distributing via a formal mechanism through schools.

¶ 07 To reduce disparities and complete unfinished works, we allocate Rs. 11,000 million to finish incomplete buildings and renovate risky structures; Rs. 400 million for disaster risk reduction and safety; Rs. 14,896 million via Provincial Councils for basic facilities; Rs. 33 million for special education resource centres (national and provincial); Rs. 18 million for assistive equipment for students with disabilities; Rs. 1,850 million for teacher colleges and National Institute of Education equipment and training; Rs. 524 million to address water and toilet needs in national schools.

¶ 08 We also discovered a well-built but underutilized teacher training complex in Kuliyapitiya (Korean-funded) for technology teachers—no staff or students were recruited. We have now admitted 200 students and are arranging hostel facilities to bring such dormant resources into use and reduce disparities.

¶ 09 Regarding universities: Prof. Nira Wickramasinghe has noted that the appearance of university campuses reflects a society’s attention to knowledge, learning, and human values. Many of our universities face severe issues: a seven-storey building at Kelaniya lies half-finished and unusable; the Technology Faculty building at Sri Jayewardenepura has cracked after five years; the Colombo Faculty of Nursing was sited on marshland and abandoned; the Gampaha Wickramarachchi University’s Indigenous Health Sciences and Technology Faculty lacks laboratories; Vavuniya University’s canteens and reading rooms have asbestos roofing in a very hot climate; at Kilinochchi, students request an elephant fence after a lecturer was killed by an elephant; Uva University has no hostels and pays 48 private facilities. These are just examples.

¶ 10 Accessibility: at the University of Colombo, a wheelchair user must be carried up to lecture halls in the Arts Faculty; the Management Faculty Administration Block has no lift; the Arts Faculty’s only lift is often out of order. We must improve access for students with disabilities.

¶ 11 We have allocated funds to complete the Health Sciences complex at Eastern University, and Medical Faculties at Sabaragamuwa and Moratuwa Universities, as well as to finish halted laboratory buildings. We will ensure lecture halls, labs, libraries, canteens, and internet facilities meet standards. Mahapola scholarships have been increased by Rs. 10,000—helpful though not sufficient; our goal is to improve overall university conditions.

¶ 12 Finally, to the Hon. Leader of the Opposition: you noted 76 years of achievements—education and health were indeed won through left movements that defended free education against neoliberal reforms. Today, universities are under pressure to over-enrol fee-levying postgraduate programmes for revenue, straining quality due to inadequate facilities. We must resist commodification that undermines standards.

¶ 13 Our policy is not to privatize free education or make “10,000 schools seek 10,000 sponsors” as a state abdication. The state bears primary responsibility. The private sector can assist, and the Hon. Leader of the Opposition can restart bus donations if desired, but we will not relinquish state responsibility for education. Thank you.